To Wake the Sleeping Princess...
by Sarahjane
Summary: Anakin Solo goes on a quest to rescue a mysterious girl.


DISCLAIMER: All recognizable characters are not mine, they belong to Sci-Fi Guru George. Don't sue me!  
  
Author's Note: I wrote this a long time, but I just now decided to post this part. If you like it, please review so I'll know if I should continue.  
  
To Wake the Sleeping Princess...  
Part 1  
  
Anakin Solo was bored.  
  
This was not a normal state for the inquisitive boy. Normally, he was perfectly content to amuse himself when the twins were busy.  
  
However, this was a fifth day in a row that the twins were "busy," and they remained "busy" with the same thing: their respective lovers. Although he was happy that Jacen and Jaina had begun to be romantically involved with Tenel Ka and Zekk, it sure put a cramp on his plans. He had hoped that he and the twins could do stuff together during their break, but now...  
  
Now they spent every free second with Tenel Ka and Zekk, leaving Anakin all alone and *extremely* bored.  
  
He wandered around the apartment for a while, staring blankly at the traffic outside the windows. He wished he could go someplace or do something exciting, but both of his parents were gone for the day and Jacen and Jaina were locked in their respective rooms with Tenel Ka and Zekk. He hated to think about what they were doing in there.  
  
Propping his chin up with his hands, he wished he could go on some kind of an adventure. Jacen and Jaina had had tons of adventures, whereas he always was left behind, safe and bored.  
  
I wish something exciting would happen, he sighed.  
  
*****  
  
"Hello, Anakin."  
  
Anakin nearly jumped out of his skin. Standing by his bed was...well, he wasn't quite sure who it was. The stranger wore a brown robe over a tunic and pants tucked into a pair of high boots. His hair was cut quite short and stood up straight in the air.  
  
"Who are you?" he asked.  
  
The stranger gave Anakin a small smile. "You look so much like your grandfather..." he murmured. "You and your Uncle Luke both look so much like Anakin."  
  
*That* got Anakin's attention. "You mean Darth Vader?" he asked.  
  
The man shook his head, frowning slightly. "No, no, no, I mean Anakin Skywalker. There is most certainly a difference."  
  
"Right, I forgot. Sorry." Anakin studied the man in front of him. "So who are you?"  
  
"I am Obi-Wan Kenobi."  
  
"Ben Kenobi?" he echoed in shock. "My uncle told me all about you. Only..." He paused for a moment, not quite sure how to elucidate his surprise.  
  
"Only you expected me to be a crazy old wizard, right?" Obi-Wan smiled.  
  
"Right," Anakin admitted sheepishly.  
  
"Well, I suppose if you wish, I could make myself appear older..." For a moment his image flickered slightly, becoming that of an old man. "...however, I prefer this form." The old man faded slightly, becoming once more a man somewhat younger than Uncle Luke.  
  
"Um, okay. Uh, do you mind if I ask you something?"  
  
He inclined his head slightly, indicating that Anakin should continue.  
  
"I don't mean to be rude, but...why are you here?"  
  
He did not seem at all surprised by Anakin's query. "I have a quest for you, Anakin."  
  
Anakin was startled. "A quest?" he echoed.  
  
"Yes," he replied calmly. "The time has come for you to awaken the sleeping princess."  
  
Cool, he thought.  
  
As if sensing his thoughts, Obi-Wan held up one hand to stop him. "Allow me to clarify my statement. A young girl--a Jedi about your age--" He paused. "You are fifteen, correct?"  
  
"Yes, sir."  
  
"Perfect. Now," he continued, "this girl is currently in stasis. I put her there during Darth Vader's attack on the Jedi Temple--" He shut his eyes briefly as if seeing the destruction once more. "--and the time has come for you to bring her out of stasis."  
  
"All right," Anakin replied, eager to go on this adventure. "Where is she?"  
  
Another small smile played across Obi-Wan's lips. "That is the problem. You see," he explained, "Darth Vader was intent on destroying each and every Jedi. However, I could not allow him to destroy her. So I placed her in stasis on a ship until someone--preferably I, but I later saw that that would be impossible--could awaken her."  
  
"Okay. But where is the ship?"  
  
"Ah, that is the question!" he smiled. "I honestly do not know. To prevent its detection, I programmed the ship to make a series of random jumps. It could be anywhere by now."  
  
Anakin paused for a moment to take all of this in. "How will I find her?"  
  
"Her journey began at Coruscant; I suggest you start yours there. As for the rest of your trip..." His body began to fade before Anakin's eyes as his voice intoned, "Use the Force, Anakin."  
  
*****  
  
Anakin Solo awoke the next morning uncertain as to whether or not last night's events had been a dream. However, his mind continued to echo Obi-Wan's words.  
  
Use the Force, Anakin.  
  
Shaking his head in an attempt to banish the voice from his head, he walked sleepily out of his room into the kitchen...  
  
...and straight into his father.  
  
Blinking slightly in confusion, he stared up at Han Solo. "Morning, Dad," he said.  
  
Running one hand through his hair, Han Solo replied, "Morning, Anakin." He offered his youngest child a tired smile. "How are you?"  
  
"Fine. What's wrong, Dad?"  
  
"Nothing." He paused for a moment. "Well, perhaps I should tell you." Once more there was a pause before continuing. "An unknown vessel has appeared over Coruscant. It's an old model. I can't find it on any charts, but some think that it's from the Old Republic. Anyway, it's just sort of hovering over the planet." He sighed. "No one knows what to do. No one on the ship can be contacted, and...Anakin! Where are you going?"  
  
There was no response as Anakin Solo, the youngest of the three children of General Han Solo and Chief of State Leia Organa Solo and Jedi Knight-in-training ran down the hall in his pajamas towards the New Republic Senate.  
  
*****  
  
"Mom!"  
  
Leia looked up from the reports she was analyzing when she heard her son's voice. "Anakin, what is it?" she asked, puzzled as to why her son would be there early in the morning in his pajamas.  
  
He ran over towards her. "Mom, I have to talk to you," he urged.  
  
"Not now, Anakin; we're in the middle of a crisis, okay? I'll talk to you later."  
  
"But I have to talk to you *right now*," he repeated insistently.  
  
She sighed. "Anakin..."  
  
"It's about the ship," he barreled on.  
  
*That* got her attention. "Anakin, how do you know about that?"  
  
"Dad told me, but that's not the point. I need a ship."  
  
"What?!"  
  
Anakin guess by her expression that he had succeeded in shocking his mother. Nevertheless, he continued. "I need a ship, Mom."  
  
"Whatever for?" she demanded.  
  
"I have to go to the ship around Coruscant."  
  
"Anakin! Absolutely not, young man! I will not allow you to do something so foolhardy."  
  
"Mom, you don't understand. I *have* to do this." He hesitated for a moment, unsure whether or not to tell her. "I had a vision last night..."  
  
"A vision?" his mother echoed skeptically.  
  
"Obi-Wan Kenobi told me that I had to go on a quest. He said that the time had come to 'awaken the sleeping princess.'"  
  
"Anakin!" she spun around to face him. "Now really, we have a lot of work to do, and..."  
  
"Ma'am!" a voice cried out. "The ship is making a hyperspace jump!"  
  
Leia whirled around to stare at the viewscreen as the ship leapt forward and vanished into hyperspace.  
  
She sighed. "All right, everyone, I want to know exactly where that thing is headed. I want an analysis of every bit of data we managed to get from that ship." She turned towards Anakin. "All right now, darling, what did you want to tell me?"  
  
There was no answer. Anakin was gone. 


End file.
